Gareth Bale has turned his attentions to hometown club Cardiff City after his efforts to buy Plymouth Argyle came to nothing.
Wales' all-time leading goalscorer hung up his boots following the 2022 World Cup at the age of 33, and has spent the past few months sniffing around for a lower-league club to buy.
Bale has the backing of US investors, but talks with Plymouth about a potential takeover earlier this summer came to nothing.
Vincent Tan not interested in Gareth Bale takeover bid...unless he is?
Bale spoke openly last month about now having switched his attention to Cardiff, and the Times report that a �40m bid for the Bluebirds has been tabled by the former Real Madrid winger and his consortium.
However, they add that Cardiff's long-standing owner, Malaysian billionaire Vincent Tan, is likely to meet the bid with an immediate rejection.
Tan has reportedly invested more than �200m in the club since taking over in 2010, including improvements to the club's training ground and expanding the Cardiff City Stadium.
Tan has overseen two promotions into the Premier League with Cardiff, but the owner's regime has been controversial since its early years, with a short-lived rebrand to change the club's home kit from blue to red in 2012 proving particularly unpopular.
Cardiff now find themselves in League One after finishing bottom of the Championship last season, prompting calls from Cardiff fans for Tan to sell up.
Reports differ as to whether or not Tan is willing to do so, with the Times report saying that Tan has 'already indicated he is not prepared to sell to the former Real Madrid forward and his partners.'
The Daily Mail give credit that very Times piece when reporting on the bid, but completely contradict that section of it, writing that 'Tan has expressed his desire to sell the club, and is open to selling to Bale'.
Both reports agree that Tan view the consortium's initial �40m bid as 'a derisory offer' and that they are expected to reject the bid immediately.
Bale told Sky Sports last month: We are interested in getting Cardiff. Its my home club, its where I grew up and my uncle used to play for them.
"To be involved with an ownership group would be a dream come true. It is a club close to my heart and I would love to be able to be a part of growing Cardiff and taking it to the Premier League where it belongs.
I know how amazing the Welsh fans and Cardiff fans are. It would be amazing to try and do something together. We are trying to engage with Cardiff and more news will come out on that in the future, but hopefully we can get something done.
